[VHFcontesting] Why you should not go beyond 4 bands

[frank bechdoldt]

Ok now to get descriptive about what spirit means to the common folk.  Spirit can be defined as intent.  One of the statements in the contest rules is to encourage as many contacts with as many stations as possible.  The word encouragement and spirit are not much different for most lay people.  This is what we mean by spirit of the rules. Since it is in the rules it is the ARRL’s intent, though they lack the will or brains or integrity to enforce it.
That being said, the ARRL should eliminate that language in the rules and say something to the effect as work as many qsos as possible no matter the distance and repieivivity between stations working as a team.  Then we can argue how big a tem should be. In fact we all feed off each others efforts, well except for the grid circlers who work themselves exclusively.
Though James and I disagree about the term spirit, we might agree on the effects this “boneheaded appeasement” has done.  It is counter effective in growing the rover movement beyond 4 bands. And the fact that they chose the bottom four is simplistic but counter productive for the community as a whole.  Some guys would have gone Kenwood ts 2000 others with transverters ECT.  Now the only single radio that can do it is a well equipped ft 736r.  Or they will purchase a 707 and a 222 x verter or fm gear. The result would be slightly randomized grid activation per this class of participants.
 
They will then stop at 4 bands and I encourage them to stop because once you move into the upper bands you are now competing in a classification that is polluted by grid circlers whose actions are not the same type of contesting you did as a limited rover.  In essence a very completive limited rover would now have admass 6 more bands and convince 4 more of his buddies to amass 10 bands and all follow each other around in circles in farmer’s fields to remain as competive as you once were as a limited rover.
 
I’m dumping my top 3 bands and moving down to limited. 
The FCC can sell everything above 2.4 GHz. After all the majority of the activity there is happening in a cow pasture in the Dessert South West to boost one man’s score on 40 different oscillators he owns and distributes to his friends. A cow pie in the farmer’s field is a cow pie by any other name.
 
The problem has a few solutions, ignoring it is not one of them.  The ARRL is spineless.
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